200 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



of the Dogwood or wild Cornel tree have 

 passed through their various shades to a deep 

 red colour. These vie with the dark purple 

 berries, which though bitter and astringent to 

 the taste, are pretty to look upon as they hang 

 in shaggy clusters. 



The Spindle-tree in autumn is one of the 

 most beautiful, and although its fruit is not a 

 berry, the curious pendent seed-vessels which 

 hang upon the tree give it a very delicate 

 appearance. These rosy capsules have a soft 

 waxen texture, and in the autumn winds quiver 

 prettily among their long footstalks — a fairy 

 creation in the flowerless season. Then in 

 the hedge-rows is the Holly, with its glossy 

 leaves and scarlet berries, and many other fruit- 

 bearing shrubs with more or less conspicuous 

 seeds. Among these may be mentioned the 

 Buckthorn, Bird - cherry, and the curious 

 Butcher's Broom. 



If the woods and hedges produce all these, 

 what may be said of the heaths and moorlands ? 

 Among the low-growing shrubs we find upon 

 the commons and mountains a host of beauti- 

 ful berry-bearers and their near neighbours. 

 Among these are the Bilberry and Blaeberry, 



